Site Search

Course Navigation


Home| Course Catalog| Career Planning

FREE online courses on CRM - Developing People-The Key To Success - Take Them Higher - COUNSEL

 

We bring the whole of ourselves into the workplace, nanobytes of information/experiences/situations and problems, all competing with work priorities, mortgages, bills, deadlines, bad vibes at work, stress…all co-exist in unhappy, incompatible juxtaposition. We need someone to talk to, share, someone to give advice.
 

There are fewer people better positioned for this than the boss!  Some bosses are experts at this; especially those in high-risk areas…remember how Richard Crenna cradles Sylvester Stallone (Rambo) in the closing scenes of ‘First Blood'. That's real caring and counseling!  It can make all the difference.
 

Contrast this with the attitude of Detective Inspector Harry Callahan's boss in ‘Sudden Impact'. After a bloody shootout, he tells Callahan and his .44 mgm Smith & Wesson to take a vacation! “People”, he yells, “have a habit of getting dead around you”.  Now that is what counseling is NOT!!

 

Counseling techniques can also be used pro-actively as a means to remove hurdles to development, defuse conflicts, reassure, clarify or just motivate.

 

 Other situations where counseling may be necessary, would include:

  • Formal appraisal interviews
  • Career/ home conflicts/ ‘stuck' managers
  • Stress/ alcoholism (Remember Nicholas Cage in his Oscar-winning role in “Leaving Las Vegas”).
  • Before/ after promotions
  • After major disappointments/ successes

 

 

There are three basic ways in which we approach the task of helping people:

We can tell them what to do

We can coach them

We can counsel them

 

 

Our authority-positions can be both inhibiting and encouraging, depending on uncertain human nature and…your motive. You have to be genuinely interested in your subordinate's welfare…they can spot insincerity a mile off!

 

How to counsel:

 

Select a peaceful, neutral venue without any unpleasant associations for either of you. Create a relaxed, informal atmosphere. Do not take notes, unless you want to look like a cop.  The task at hand can be tackled  in four stages:
 

Identifying the problem:  ‘Talk him down' like an air traffic controller ‘talks down' an aircraft in trouble.  Perhaps the actual problem lies deeper, and what you see is only its surface projection. Even if no solution presents itself, don't criticize, no fake advice …and sum it up to make it smaller. It may be a dilemma, and you will need to be careful not to upset him.
 

Accepting feelings: As you discuss the problem, keep asking how he is feeling, reinforcing the past with present (better) experience, subtly superimposing genuine ‘support' feelings over the negative ones. Keep the focus on the person, yourself maintaining a low profile.

 

Exploring Alternatives: Encourage them to identify alternate responses to the problem. You are now directing/ provoking / encouraging them to let them reach into internal, subconscious or hidden resources to decide on a direction…but don't try to out-direct Cameron or Spielberg.

 

Making the Decision:  He has to do it by himself; has to be fully committed to it because he has to implement it!  No immediate solution may, however, emerge immediately. Let it ride; don't give undue pressure to decide.
 

Wind Down the session:  Gently does it'… don't let him return to earth with a bump. Counseling is not easy, otherwise we'd all be counselors. Just talking can help let off steam and can recharge a person's motivation to fight the problem.

 

QUESTION:

 

  1. What ‘counseling' means and why would you, as a manager, need to learn the techniques of counseling? Explain the link between counseling and productivity.

 

  1. When do you counsel? Is your's a reactive or a pro-active approach to this important function?    What are the stages involved? Would you like to attempt a case study to illustrate the matter further? How much job satisfaction is involved for the manager?

 

 

Our Network Of Sites:
Apply 4 Admissions.com              | A2ZColleges.com  | OpenLearningWorld.com  | Totaram.com
Anatomy Colleges.com                | Anesthesiology Schools.com  | Architecture Colleges.com | Audiology Schools.com
Cardiology Colleges.com            | Computer Science Colleges.com| Computer Science Schools.com| Dermatology Schools.com
Epidemiology Schools.com         | Gastroenterology Schools.com  | Hematology Schools.com     | Immunology Schools.com
IT Colleges.com                | Kinesiology Schools.com  | Language Colleges.com  | Music Colleges.com
Nephrology Schools.com             | Neurology Schools.com  | Neurosurgery Schools.com | Obstetrics Schools.com
Oncology Schools.com    | Ophthalmology Schools.com | Orthopedics Schools.com       | Osteopathy Schools.com
Otolaryngology Schools.com| Pathology Schools.com  | Pediatrics Schools.com  | Physical Therapy Colleges.com
Plastic Surgery Schools.com| Podiatry Schools.com  | Psychiatry Schools.com   | Pulmonary Schools.com 
Radiology Schools.com| Sports Medicine Schools.com| Surgery Schools.com | Toxicology Schools.com
US Law Colleges.com| US Med Schools.com | US Dental Schools.com

About Us Terms of Use | Contact Us | Partner with Us | Press Release | Sitemap | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy


©1999-2011 OpenLearningWorld . com - All Rights Reserved